Warren Hastings (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

First published in 1889, Alfred Lyall’s biography of the first Governor-General of India concentrates on Hastings’ time in India from his first arrival in 1750 through his famous impeachment trial for maladministration and corruption. The trial, spearheaded by Edmund Burke and Hastings’ notorious enemy Sir Philip Francis, dragged on from 1787 until his final acquittal in 1795.